Posts Tagged ‘Passion’

From kitsch to couture, in.cube8r ® has it all under one roof. We stumbled upon this mini mecca of handmade goods on a walk in Brisbane, just a couple blocks shy of where we spotted Harajuku Gyoza.

Enticed by the sign outside “90 Brisbane artists under one roof,” we ducked in, hoping we might spot some more great art. The handmade goods were lovely but it was the business itself that captivated us that afternoon.

Glass boxes full of creative goodies shone like diamonds in the late afternoon sun. Curious, we wandered inside. Brisbane franchise owner Vicki Sinclair welcomed us in with a warm smile and explained the in.cube8r model to us.

“Each in.cube8r® is home to more than 90 of australia’s top crafters. in.cube8r takes no commission on sales. Each gallery is divided up into glass cubicles, shelves, racks and partitions which artists can lease for a small cost, from as little as $21.00 per week over a 3-month period. in.cube8r is the first and original model of this concept. It is open to anyone who makes things by hand and for anyone who loves buying one-off unique items. There is no commission on items sold; when an item is sold the artist receives 100% of the retail price. in.cube8r® runs like a long-term market; this gives its artists and hand crafters the power over display and price.”

Isy Galey, creator of in.cube8er, woke up one morning (after another nanny contract had ended, due to children growing up and going to school) and calculated that she had changed close to 25,000 nappies over the last 20 years, so perhaps it was time to fulfill the dream.

We love the idea of having an affordable platform for both emerging and established artists to display and sell their work.

A stone’s throw away from Real Creative Design Studio, we moseyed over to round 2 of Byron Bay’s industrial estate and to another heaping spoonful of inspiration. Maria of Real Creative walked us there herself and introduced us to Frankie Ratford, the creator of The Design Kids.

Frankie is all over Australia’s design scene, having worked with Frost in Sydney, studying in Melbourne, managing the Design Kids in Byron Bay, and lecturing in Brisbane. Which is no small feat considering how huge Australia is and how many of those gigs she does simultaneously.

The Design Kids is a platform for emerging designers and creatives in Australia to sell their work. Frankie helps facilitate real world opportunities for design students to get a taste of what the industry is like outside of the classroom, and she’s doing a kick ass job of it. Their most recent exhibition, the Terrible Twos paired each student with an established studio to collaborate, and the sale of each canvas went to a charity of the student’s choosing. More on the win-win scenarios that Frankie’s created below (and a photo of Frankie’s collaboration from the Terrible Two’s exhibit.. the one with the kitchen stove.)

Frankie’s fire fueled our own. She’s got a fantastic mix of the necessary design skills, intuition, and business sense to create some serious damage (the good kind, that is). Finding my favorite business book the 4-hour-workweek on her shelf didn’t surprise me in the slightest.

Keep your eye on this girl. Read on for more about The Design Kids and Frankie’s background.

I have ‘Frankie Fridays’, I don’t work Fridays. You need time away to do what you want and refresh.

How did you fund the show?
I got the space for the show for free and got a drinks sponsor. Desktop magazine got involved too. Sales of the art went to charity and the studios and student got exposure.

Do you make money from this?
I lecture 2 days a week in Brisbane.

When did you move to Australia?
10 years ago I moved from Bournemouth. I lived in Canada, then studied in Melbourne for 4 years. I worked for Frost in Sydney for 4 years and have been in Byron Bay for 6 months. As soon as I had the resources and had learnt about everything creative, I moved here. I made sure to learn about blogging, teaching, and marketing. Once I had the skills, I moved here to set up the business. As soon as you say you’re looking for work, it snowballs!

Do you have any tips for emerging designers?
I would say to stay true to yourself. I have ‘Frankie Fridays’, I don’t work Fridays. You need time away to do what you want and refresh!

For more information on the Design Kids visit:

http://thedesignkids.com.au/

https://www.facebook.com/thedesignkids

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Working together benefits our friends, our families, and our children.

MamaBake is a community of mothers who cook big batches together so that, at the end of the night, each mama goes home with a few ready meals to serve her family that week. At a most basic level, it saves a busy mom time and frees her from relentless kitchen duties for a bit. On another level, it’s about bringing women together and building a community, experiencing a strength in numbers, and bonding over food. What started as one small group on the east coast of Australia has exploded into pop up communities worldwide.

We found MamaBake via facebook during our 17-day campervan trip up the east coast, and messaged them asking if there were any MamaBake meetups going on. Within an hour, we had an invitation to dinner and a home to sleep in from MamaBake’s founder, Michelle Shearer.

“WHAT?!” thought Hannah and I in amazed unison. Overwhelmed, once again, by the kindness of strangers and the wonder of the power of the internet, we quickly closed our gaping mouths and worked out a time to meet.

After two cold and stormy nights sleeping in our campervan, walking into Michelle and Steve’s home was a true treat. It was also an entertaining circus! One of their parrots swiftly landed on top of my head and made itself at home, nestled in my hair and bit my ear. Their sweet baby boy ran around screaming, throwing puzzle pieces, and force-feeding us tortilla chips, and his older sister happily modeled my glasses while recreating a truly superb LA valley-girl accent.

We sat down to Michelle’s gorgeous Beef Stew dinner with them and a couple of friends, including the lovely and talented Australian surf artist Christie Rigby. We learned a bit about what it takes to be a mum, MamaBake’s history, and how to harness the power of “strength in numbers”. Read on.

What was the idea behind MamaBake?
It all started when I was given a lasagne and that made me think immediately of wanting to reciprocate the gesture. I thought about mothering and how we don’t really like to receive help. As mums we like to give the impression that we’re OK, so it’s more like a transaction than a ‘Thank you very much’. There’s not much of a community around motherhood, there’s no real connections. If you look at how the tribes are doing it, women are always working together. In today’s society the numbers of mothers with depression and mental issues after childbirth is surprising. MamaBake is bringing community home and back to where it needs to be. When mothers bring that home they actually find themselves liberated. It’s so simple, try it and see what happens! It’s group big batch baking and it’s gone bonkers across Australia.

How did you come up with the name ‘MamaBake’?
I guess it was fairly self-explanatory. It really was the first thing that came to mind.

Do you do it here in Lennox Head?
Yes. We do it here in this house. We’ve got groups all over.

When was the first one?
The first one was in February 2009.

What was the first strand and how did it spawn in to such a huge movement?
It started in real life with a group of 4 people. Those 4 people told their friends.

How did the idea of MamaBake spread?
It started here. I posted a group on Facebook and it grew from there. I guess people just thought it was a good idea and talked about it.

Did you intend to start such a big movement?
Not really. I’m just a small part of something that represents a much bigger picture. I think we’re all looking for a new way of doing things. We’re sick of striving for the wide screen TV.

Do you enjoy cooking?

It started in real life with a group of 4 people. Those 4 people told their friends.

I do enjoy it and I enjoy raising my kids but there are days when you just need a break.

I can imagine it’s isolating to be at home so much of the time taking care of children?
Yes it can be. Many mothers have moved away from family and friends and we tend to bunker down when we have small children. MamaBake brings much needed community and support where it’s needed most as well as lightening the woman’s domestic burden.

Do you make sure all of the food you’re making is natural?
We [MamaBake] get together groups of women and they work out between them what their food values are; it might be a group of women who are really passionate about organic produce, then there might be another group whose main goal is to cut costs.

Its hard to really know what a mum does until you are one. How do people know how to be before motherhood happens?
Exactly! We should be telling people now and forming communities. I believe that it’s my generation who is bringing mums together. The next generation will bring the previous generation in to it too. What MamaBake is doing is demonstrating how community can work together. Sometimes we have over 40 women come together plus all of their children, they are there seeing their mothers working as a group, that’s a really powerful legacy.

Sometimes we have over 40 women come together plus all of their children, they are there seeing their mothers working as a group, that’s a really powerful legacy.

So the idea of MamaBake is not about food but about the sense of community it brings? Working together to make something greater than the individual part?
It’s bringing the meaning back to mothering. It’s absolutely essential to every point in our society. It’s bringing it home. We’re focusing on the cooking as food is a chore that mothers have to think about all the time. You can’t quit just because you’re tired or sick, you have to keep going, you need community and other mothers to back you up. Working together benefits our friends, our families, and our children.

I’m quite disciplined with myself and what I want, if there’s something that I want, I make it happen. You just have to stay focused.

Chef Elfwing is the head chef at Senses Restaurant at Hilton Kuala Lumpur. Originally from Sweden, he studied the culinary arts in Australia from age 16 after being inspired by his father, who was also an international chef. He’s worked with the legendary Chiong Liew at Grange in Adelaide, and at the world-famous Fat Duck restaurant with Heston Blumenthal, among others. He’s published his own cookbook, which features his gorgeous photography. His Senses restaurant has won several awards including the prestigious 5-Star Diamond Awards as one of the Best Restaurants in the World and Hospitality Asia Award for Best Western Cuisine.

But he’s so much more than a pile of fancy titles and accolades. He’s warm, innovative, passionate, creative and inspiring to say the least. He’s humble about his extraordinary feats and talents, and willing to admit there’s always more to learn. He has an infectious energy and he continues to work hard to earn the fruits of his labor. Tasting his culinary creations assured me of that. He was kind enough to let me interview him, snap some photos, and prepare some of his classic dishes for me.

Needless to say, I was blown away by Chef Eflwing’s food as well as his character.

Unbelievable texture, melt-in-your-mouth trout. The presentation is so unique–watching the smoke seep out as the jar is opened, smelling the soft wood chip smoke as it makes its way towards you, and the unbeatable taste.. top-notch combination. Truly delights your Senses.

Another brilliant presentation–first you’re served the cod, lobster, scallop and potato so you really see what’s in the soup. Then they pour the soup over it all, piping hot, as the aroma fills your nose. A perfect, hearty soup for winter.

Another fantastic presentation. Bursting with fresh ocean flavor. ”Edible sand” concoction unlike anything I’ve seen or tasted, paired perfectly with the potato purée. A sophisticated harmony of delights from the sea.

How long have you been living in Malaysia and working at Senses inside Hilton Kuala Lumpur?

Eight years, it was the 1st of July, 2004 that I started here. I’m Swedish but I worked 7 years in Australia before coming here. I worked in Adalaide before with Chiong Liew, and Kuala Lumpur wanted to “bring papa home” because he’s Malaysian, so they asked me and Kelly Brennan to open and run Senses, based on legendary KL chef Chiong Liew‘s themes. It has changed a lot since opening, because of the clientele: people go to Chiong Liew’s personal restaurant to eat Chiong Liew’s food: he cooks about 20 dishes and it has been that way for 10 years.

But here, the Malaysians request new meals. You have to listen to your customers. That was something I had to learn, I came from the very stubborn, determined Chiong Liew mentality because I learned from him, that “this is my dish, nothing can change.” The Malaysians are very loyal in that they like coming back to a place, but they don’t want the same thing time and again–they want different dishes from the same chef. We might think we know how things work based on previous experince, but its always changing.

What are your favorite ways to integrate aspects of local Malaysian food or culture into your creations?

I think I learned a lot about Malaysian food, and its integration of Malay, Chinese, Indian aspects while working with Chiong Liew in Australia. We opened Senses with the concept to cook gourmet Malysian food, but the locals were saying, “I don’t need you to cook shark fin or bok choi for me here, I can go to the local Chinese restaruant for that.” We had all these beautiful lychees and mangosteens, and they’re saying, “I’ll just get that at my corner market, can you please give me some rhubarb? Something special from your culture?”

Smoking Allowed, my signature dish–the one served in a smoke-filled jar, is certainly Scandinavian, but it uses ocean trout from Australia. I wouldn’t be allowed to use a Norwegian salmon for this because of the texture and fat content, I had to test and try to find the right fish. So that’s why I integrate different foods from different places, to get the best ingredients from where they are in the world. I buy local, but I don’t buy the typical Asian vegetables. My fish is imported from Japan or Australia, but a lot of this is because of customer demand, because they want something special, something they cannot find on the streets.

Cheong’s food is very modern Malaysian: if you’re Malaysian, you might understand where his food is coming from, but you might not like it because it’s not prepared in the traditional ways. The locals are very protective about how a laksa should be, but every single person makes it a different way.

My food is a bit more straightforward, it might be refined, but the flavors are very recognizable and familiar.

What do you eat when you’re not at work?

I tend to cook at home on my day off.. I lock myself in my home on my days off. It’s taken me years to be this relaxed. Some chefs are all over the place, every two years a new place.

What will you do after you’re finished at Senses?

Right now Senses and the Hilton here is my plan and my life. We’re going to renovate, we’re actually going to have a new restaurant and new bar.. this is a hotel that doesn’t stand still. We’re going to move more towards a western, European restaurant. When I want to leave again, I will move back to Australia. I have citizenship there as well.

I never planned to stay this long but I like it and I’m happy so.. why move?

We met an Executive Chef in Thailand, and he is in charge of managing the chefs but no longer cooks. Are you cooking still?

Yes, we have 160 chefs and 8 outlets at this hotel, so we have an executive chef here too–but I said to myself.. I don’t want that job, I don’t want 220 headaches. I am spoiled, lucky even, that I am just one head chef in one restauarant. I never planned to stay this long but I like it and I’m happy so.. why move?

Was it your dream to become a chef when you were younger?

Yes, I would say. I’ve always loved reptiles and fish, so I was interested in marine biology and the like, but cooking was more instantly gratifying and when I was 15, 16 it seemed like an easier choice to study cooking than marine biology. Since I was young, my father was an international chef, and I would visit him wherever he was and it was always a kind of holiday to see him cooking on those big cruise ships. My dad was working as a chef at Carnival cruise ships company when Hurricane Katrina hit. The company offered to house people for free but they had a huge problem with criminals on board, so he quit and moved to Australia. I visited him there, just thinking it was a vacation, and I was wowed by all the sunshine.. endless sunshine! So it made me think, maybe I should study here, so I studied at culinary school there from age 16. Most of my inspiration came form seeing my dad, working all over the world, traveling. It all started from there.

I saw you featured on Molecular Gastronomy, can you explain what molecular gastronomy is and how you use it?

Your basic french training is always in the background in your mind as a chef. My food, in terms of molecular, is definitely.. well, I spent a month at the Fat Duck with the legendary Heston Blumenthal, and that showed a side of molecular gastronomy that really appealed to me. Heston’s style is more about time and temperature, and he is very precise with this. You’re not adding foreign ingredients for a texture that’s not there–the Spanish chefs change a lot of texture: you have a familiar flavor but the texture is strange. I would love to go and eat it, but it’s not the kind that I enjoy cooking. Smoking Allowed is vacuum cooking, which is old-fashioned already, but its very precise, and so very fool-proof, so you get a very consistent product every time you do it. But we haven’t made a trout into a shaving foam texture, so it’s still a fish. The edible sensibilities comes form my inspiration from Heston.

Who are some of the coolest people you met here?

Mel Gibson, Louis Hamiltion (he had two-well done tenderloins, french fries and heinz tomato ketchup) because we have the Formula 1 races. Sebastian Vettel who won Formula 1 for the past two years, he comes every year, I was lucky enough to give him one of my books.

Have you ever had any failures that you felt you could not overcome?

What can I say.. cooking is very personal, because YOU are the one choosing the ingredients, serving the dish. Sometimes you care if the guest doesn’t like it because you might believe in it so strongly and like it so much, but after 15 years in the kitchen, I think you learn to be humble. Not everyone can like what you like. You have a lot of failures testing recipes, but you test it–if its not good, you don’t serve it. Testing is a different type of failure–it doesn’t hurt as much. Being very much hands-on you eliminate a lot of that. I haven’t had any serious failures I think. I’m quite disciplined with myself and what I want, if there’s something that I want, I make it happen. You just have to stay focused.

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For more information on Chef Elfwing and Senses Restuarant, please visit:

In Kuala Lumpur, our couchsurfing hosts discovered a group of artists who established a gallery and studio, called 無限發掘 FINDARS, to work together, inspire one another, and showcase their creativity. It’s a space that’s open to the community and to different types of art, as well as an independent music label and studio.

It made me pretty damn nostalgic for days spent in the studios at art school, working late into the night with your best mates by your side. We loved seeing the sketchbooks of painter Beng Tze, who, along with the other founders of FINDARS honed their crafts many moons ago at Malaysian Institute of Art.

We were lucky to interview one of the founders Lim Keh Soon, who makes some of the freshest (and most twisted!) illustrations I’ve seen.

How old are you?

32.

What brought you to KL?

I grew up close to here and moved to the centre 10 years ago to study.

What did you study?

Illustration at the Malaysian Institute of Art.

So, we are here in ‘Findars’ art space. How did the project start?

I met Beng Tze and Min Lik, we work together with a few other artists and share the rent for the building. We put on shows when we can. The group started in February 2008. There’s 6 of us – Me, Wong Eng Leong, Wong Min Lik, Tey Beng Tze, Bannai Roo, and Rainf.

Do a lot of people purchase your pieces?

We had another space near the central market where people would come in and buy but not so many collectors come to this location because its a bit more off-the-beaten track.

Have you been able to make money?

Not so much. We all have other jobs too. I work a few days a week as a part-time teacher, teaching art to 19-and 20-year old students, the rest of the time I spend here as the studio is good for my concentration. I used to work alone at my house but it wasn’t good for inspiration. Around 3 years ago I made a comic book, inspired by Japanese Manga, and published 130 copies. I sold them by myself, mainly to friends.

Would you say you were more of an illustrator than a painter?

Yes, but I have always been interested in painting so I have been doing a lot of that recently.

What’s the art scene like in KL?

The most happening time is the show opening. They are ongoing but the audience is usually quite conservative.

Are there lots of artists in the city?

Not compared with Indonesia, that’s known as an art hub for South-East Asia.

What is your favourite style of drawing, or thing to draw?

Characters. Not the normal style of character drawing though. Something abnormal, cut-off or something.

What’s the inspiration for your current piece?

Moving here I find I have a proper space to work. I love to see the scenery and sometimes try to include local news. My most recent piece was inspired by the Prime Ministers slogan, “You help me, I help you” I named it “You eat me, I eat you”.

Is this piece, your painting called “You Eat Me, I Eat You” for an upcoming show?

No. I plan to do a solo show and possibly produce another comic book this year.

What materials do you normally use?

Acrylic paint. I don’t sketch or plan, just go straight in with paint. Most of them I imagine and then paint. For some I use real objects and then paint around it.

How long do your large paintings usually take to complete?

Around 2 months.

How do you know when a piece is finished?

Well, this one isn’t. I still need to refine. Sometimes it’s boring though looking at the same piece, so I do some drawing instead.

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FINDARS regularly hosts exhibitions and live music at their gallery in Kuala Lumpur. Fore more information, check them out on the web at the following places.

Last week I had the honor of photographing (and eating with!) San Francisco’s first Vietnamese Pop-Up Cafe, Rice Paper Scissors. Vietnam is one of The E.A.T. Team’s first stops next year, so chowing down with these lovely ladies really got me excited for what my mouth is going to experience in just a few short months. Seeing this team in action really filled my heart (and belly) with awesome sauce for a bunch of reasons. Some of them being:

Pursuit of passion. Cofounders Valerie Luu & Katie Kwan just love Vietnamese street food and wanted to share it with the world. They blasted through the fear of “will this work?” when thinking about starting their food biz and set out to make it happen. In addition to “popping-up” in various locations throughout San Francisco for public feasts such as these, the girls have a weekly gig at Mojo Bicycle Cafe.

Ridiculous tasty. It’s handmade, fresh, and prepared right before your very eyes. I got to sample the Rice Porridge (see photo) with juicy chicken and ginger and vegan “duck” Bahn Mi, a popular sandwich on a crusty french baguette with Pate, vegetables like carrots & daikon.

Down to earth. Literally. One of the defining aspects of Rice Paper Scissors is their small tables and even smaller “little red stools”. It’s about being close to your food and to the friends you share it with. It was hosted in the front yard of a beautiful old house right on Valencia Street in a popular district of San Francisco, so passersby couldn’t help but notice the scent and the sight.

Down to earth, figuratively. I loved to see people walking by stop after smelling the eggs frying and the people chowing down, asking “Do you do this every week?!” It was a flurry of friends, strangers, old, young, new, repeat, and everything in between laughing and eating and drinking. Simple, unadulterated goodness.

Stay tuned for The E.A.T. Team’s upcoming interview with Rice Paper Scissors about food, life, and following your dreams (via your stomach). They’ll be one of the first contributors to the recipe section of the book as well.